I pulled the little chain and nothing. My little green lamp didn’t turn on. I checked the bulb to see if it was dead or not screwed in tight. The bulb was fine. Pull the chain—nothing. Hmmm? My favorite green lamp simply wouldn’t work. Just as I was beginning to grow frustrated and ready to … More “Behold, Electricity is at Hand!”
The moon is made of green cheese. At least this was the silly myth began some 500 years ago. Nobody really expected to find Swiss or Cheddar when we began sending rockets to the moon in the 1960s, but I bet many were at least hoping to discover something, well, quite extraordinary—something “out of this … More Down-to-Earth Spirituality
I remember it was early spring and unseasonably warm. It was just after Passover. I can still smell the warm, salted breeze coming off the Aegean sea, and hear the squalk of seagulls circling above. We stood on the hill overlooking the harbor and waited for the ship to appear on the horizon. The ship … More The Lucky Tale of Eutychus
PSALM 23 REWRITTEN (WORRY) Worry is my shepherd, I can’t turn it off. Worry never lets me lie down and rest, It leads me beside waterfalls of “what ifs.” Worry torments my soul. Worry guides me down safe paths only, I’m afraid to step out, embrace change, really live! Worry makes even minor trials seem … More Who’s Your Shepherd? (5)
PSALM 23 REWRITTEN (DEPRESSION) Depression is my shepherd. I deserve nothing. I have no right to lie down; even the weather conspires to make my life miserable. My soul is beaten down. I have no one to follow and lack the energy to make my own way. My mind is filled with dark thoughts. I … More Who’s Your Shepherd? (4)
I want you to imagine two scenes. First, picture a peaceful tropical beach resort, yourself lying in a hammock with a cold drink and good book. Can you hear the seagulls squawking as the sounds of the surf provide a relaxing soundtrack? Feel the sun warming your neck, and the gentle breeze keeping you cool? Peace … More SERMON: Navigating Life’s Storms
Let me share about a fun side-project I’ve been working on. I’ve spent the past few months compiling the past 10 or so years of Daily Illumination writings into a collection of self-published books for my personal library and to share with family and friends. The original intent was to collect all my best blog pieces into physical books for my own shelf — solely … More My Book Project
When Sarah was a little girl, she loved to dance and twirl barefooted across the soft green grass of her childhood home and feel the soft blades in between her toes. One day she noticed a small solitary yellow dandelion growing up amidst all the green and thought, “How beautiful!” And she danced and twirled … More Dandelions: A Modernized Parable
During Advent in 2013 we examined Psalm 23 in a sermon series entitled Who’s Your Shepherd? It remains one of my favorite series we’ve done to date. I contended that when we let God be the guide, or shepherd, directing our lives and influencing our decisions, He leads us to green pastures of the “abundant […]
This academic essay explores the character of Christ’s Second Coming in light of the Jesus-shaped theology of Jurgen Moltmann. Introduction For most of Christian history, the doctrine of the parousia of Christ (his “coming” or “effective presence”, i.e., Second Coming) in glory and judgment has been neglected and pushed to the margins of Christian theology and … More Moltmann & the Parousia: Who Exactly is Coming Again?
PSALM 23 REWRITTEN (FINANCIAL DEBT) Financial stress is my shepherd, there’s never enough to pay the bills. It keeps me awake at night. It leaves me paralyzed with fear. I’m worn out just thinking about it. It drives me to do things that don’t honor God. We’re so far in the hole, we’ll never dig … More Who’s Your Shepherd? (2)
“But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, … More EPHESIANS 15: In On Everything (2:11-13)
During Advent in 2013 we examined Psalm 23 in a sermon series entitled Who’s Your Shepherd? It remains one of my favorite series we’ve done to date. I contended that when we let God be the guide, or shepherd, directing our lives and influencing our decisions, He leads us to green pastures of the “abundant … More Who’s Your Shepherd? (1)
I preached this sermon in the summer of 2012 to rally the congregation of to make a deeper commitment to MainStreet and invest financially in our building campaign to move into our own space at Stonegate Plaza. A ROAD TRIP TO REMEMBER It was spring break of 1998—my senior year of high school. Several of my … More SERMON: Church Road Trip
“Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body; if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, the church will fall…. Let us not mock God with metaphor, Analogy, sidestepping transcendence; Making of the even a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of … More Seven Stanzas at Easter (J. Updike)
“The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here, food for the worms. But the work shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by … More QUOTABLES: Ben Franklin’s Epitaph
On January 15, 2017, MainStreet Covenant celebrated our 5th anniversary. Exactly five years ago, I preached an inaugural sermon telling the story of Erik August Skogsbergh, a renowned Swedish preacher and one of the founders of the Covenant, and of his dynamic ministry in Mound in the 1890s. In those days crowds took the … More Aboard the MainStreet Boat – 5th Anniversary Reflection
Our friend Danny Evans is writing poems each week for a series of sermons on the seven days of creation based on Steve Wiens’ book Beginnings: The First Seven Days of the Rest of Your Life (2016). Enjoy! EXPAND by Danny Evans Now is your chance for expanse. It’s time to broaden where you are going to the God who … More POEM: “Expand” by Danny Evans
Our friend Danny Evans is writing poems each week for a series of sermons on the seven days of creation based on Steve Wiens’ book Beginnings: The First Seven Days of the Rest of Your Life (2016). Enjoy! DAY ONE: LIGHT by Danny Evans The dark made all afraid, But a spark came to its aid. Before … More POEM: “Light” by Danny Evans
“The Bible is alive. It speaks to me. It has feet, it runs after me. It has hands, it lays hold of me.” Martin Luther
Instead of giving up something for Lent this year, how about taking up a 28-Day Spiritual fitness challenge? Two amazing MainStreet friends — Jaimie Hanly and Melissa Noreen — created a wonderful tool for growing in one’s prayer life and relationship with God. It’s a great idea for this Lenten season. In invite you to check this out, and join … More 28-Day Spiritual Fitness Challenge
Jesus led me out of the Fishing Room, down a corridor, deeper into the mysterious Fish House. The walls and ceiling were all of warm, sweet smelling cedar planking. Lanterns lined the walls giving the place a cozy cabin feel. Under my feet, the ice was replaced by granite tile covered by a long, Persian … More Cabin 21: Sweat it Out
This essay was my first attempt in college at grappling with the issues related to Theodicy, that is, the problem of reconciling the existence of an all-powerful, all-good God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world. Like many, my first exposure to this issue led me to the more traditional view influenced … More ESSAY: A Theology of Suffering (2001)
One reason I resisted being a “pastor” for so long was all the stereotypes I had in my head for what pastors are supposed to be like. My image always looked something like Mr. Rogers in a sweater and khakis. Warm, personable, emotionally steady, gentle and never, EVER moody. I don’t know where I picked … More Hope for Moody Pastors (Mark 3:3-6)
Then immediately behind me I heard the creaking hinges of a door swinging open, and turning around I saw Jesus standing in the doorway of a little wooden ice fishing shack. “Are you up for some more fishing?” he asked. As I walked over toward the shack I noticed I was still dressed in sopping … More Cabin 20: Ice Fishing
Kingdom Harbor 